Increased stress and demands on the processing power taxes the brain, meaning that the electrical pulses between the synapses and bodily nerves fatigue them, making them weak and tired. This leads to drowsiness initially, a feeling of being run down and exhausted, and perhaps a short-term headache. This is your brain’s way of telling you that it is doing too much and that you have to slow down and take a break. In the same way that pain in your hand tells you to take your hand out of the fire, what you need to do when you are feeling exhausted is to find a way to stop working so hard.
What are Migraines?
Your brain is a wildly complex machine, and although we have learned more about it in the past ten years than we have in all of history, there is still so much that we don’t know. The human brain is able to handle hundreds of requests per second, and the belief is that when the brain gets overloaded with tasks—either conscious thinking or autonomic functions—we get migraines, a medical term for the intense pain that can occur in different places in your head. They can last for up to 72 hours and be localized to one small part of your brain, to an entire third of your brain. It can also cause blindness in the case of retinal or ocular migraines.
If you disregard these warning signs or push them away, and the demands on the brain continue, the results may be severe and can cause a migraine, impairing your body’s functioning. This is the next stage of your body’s defense mechanism kicking into effect, essentially forcing you to slow down.
You should always consult your GP or physician. You can use https://www.tapgp.co.uk to find one near you.
Three Contributors to Migraines
Here are some of the situations that have been shown to be tied to migraines so that you might avoid or allow for them:
- Changes in environment – You may not have considered it, but these are considered to be one of the main causes of migraines. If someone is working in an air-conditioned room long enough for their body to acclimate to that temperature enough for the brain to order functions to maintain operating at that temperature. Then, suddenly, that person moves to a room with a higher temperature, and their body senses the sudden change in environment, and the brain will trigger many bodily functions to change and adapt instantly. This flurry of requests will stress the brain and contribute to a potential migraine.
- Genetic Disposition – Research shows that migraines may be genetic diseases that can be passed on genetically, meaning some families are more prone to them than others.
- Diet – Poor dietary choices and abrupt changes in a diet without regularity could also stress the brain as it attempts to adapt to the new fuel you have given it.
Three Tips To Beat A Migraine
- Change Your Environment
As explained above, your environment can affect what contributes to your migraine. Try using that to your advantage and find a quiet, dark room where you can stay for a long period and ensure that you can regulate your body heat.
- Eat Healthily
Giving your body the right fuel that it needs, in the way of high protein vegetables and grains, low-sugar foods, and salads with iron and vitamins in them, is a great way to give your brain a break from trying to figure out how to turn a box of donut holes into something that your body can use.
- Scented Oils
These have been known to be effective in calming the mind, especially peppermint oil to the temples or having it in a diffuser. Any smell that relaxes you or takes you out of your current, stressful situation will do the trick. There’s no across-the-board solution here. Use whatever works for you.